Looking for some advice/opinions on appealing to players

I see top games like Biogun had hundreds of plays on even the first days after it was put on the Scirra arcade. How do people accomplish this? I have a game, no where near as polished, called Escape is Possible and my question is this: after the game recieves a graphic overhaul and I change/polish a lot of game features, should I then upload the game as a new game instead of just updating it? I could rename the old game to Escape is Possible - Old Version or something along those lines?

Please let me know what you guys think

If you want many people playing your game, this is not the right place. The arcade is more an hosting platform than a way to get an audience.

But in my opinion, yes you should upload a new version and hide the old one. Some people browsing the arcade could discover your game (the improved and better version)

If you want many people playing your game, this is not the right place. The arcade is more an hosting platform than a way to get an audience.

But in my opinion, yes you should upload a new version and hide the old one. Some people browsing the arcade could discover your game (the improved and better version)

Thank you for your reply. When the game is in a more complete state, where would you suggest uploading it to? I feel like it would get lost in a sea of much better games if I were to upload it on to a site like kongregate. At a much later stage of development, or maybe with a different game, I would like to try to get a game on steam, but before that point I want to choose a platform that I can release a demo on to get some people interested in the game.

I don't have the anwser, all I can give you is this link that I found recently about methods indie game developers use to market their games.

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-effective-methods-indie-game-developers-use-to-market-their-games

(Find a niche and share your game with people in this niche that have nothing to do with game making)

I'm not an experimented dev and I have never sold any games but I think that an audience for your game is more important than getting your game on steam.

Thanks for the help I will absolutely check out the link!

I absolutely agree on that last part, I'm only seeing Steam as a long term goal

I see top games like Biogun had hundreds of plays on even the first days after it was put on the Scirra arcade. How do people accomplish this? I have a game, no where near as polished, called Escape is Possible and my question is this: after the game recieves a graphic overhaul and I change/polish a lot of game features, should I then upload the game as a new game instead of just updating it? I could rename the old game to Escape is Possible - Old Version or something along those lines?

Please let me know what you guys think

Agreed, I think you should definitely upload a new version of the game, while getting rid of the current version.

Just checked out your game- you are off to a great start- keep it up!

Just checked out your game- you are off to a great start- keep it up!

Thank you!

I realized a little too late that I couldn't knife a ghost

The game's looking good man, although at the place where you spawn I was trying to walk to the left because I thought it went to another room or something. You might want to add a wall there, just so people don't get confused.

Other than that it's looking like it has some potential

I realized a little too late that I couldn't knife a ghost

The game's looking good man, although at the place where you spawn I was trying to walk to the left because I thought it went to another room or something. You might want to add a wall there, just so people don't get confused.

Other than that it's looking like it has some potential

Thank you for the feedback! Are you referring to Level 1? I plan to redo and add more levels in an update soon

Hi guys! As I'm getting ready to release another update I would like to take an opportunity to ask if you would check out the game and let me know what you would like to see in it. Also check out the devlog to see what is currently planned. I really love getting feedback, but lately it seems hard to get.

I look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you!

I tried it as well, it definitely does have potential, just work on some of the confusing aspects, however so far so good:)

I tried it as well, it definitely does have potential, just work on some of the confusing aspects, however so far so good:)

Thank you! What are the confusing aspects? Are you referring to the levels or controls?

Let people know when you have done a major update like new levels to your games in the forum. I have my Pinball Sandbox in the top games and it bounces around a little but I use my own website and social networks to promote it and I use the forum to announce any major updates like the new Simpson's theme pinball layout I just added.

Don't be afraid to ask your friends to play and leave a rating. If a game doesn't get high ratings at first it usually ends up buried never to be noticed again. Once it has some good ratings more people will play and rate it.

See how that works

Let people know when you have done a major update like new levels to your games in the forum. I have my Pinball Sandbox in the top games and it bounces around a little but I use my own website and social networks to promote it and I use the forum to announce any major updates like the new Simpson's theme pinball layout I just added.

Don't be afraid to ask your friends to play and leave a rating. If a game doesn't get high ratings at first it usually ends up buried never to be noticed again. Once it has some good ratings more people will play and rate it.

See how that works

Thank you for your feedback. I have some higher aspirations for the game, and am currently working with a number of people on Fiverr for everything from sprites to voice acting. Once I have the game polished and looking really nice I plan to upload that version as a new game. Then I probably won't update the version on Scirra except for bug fixes. I will be sure to take your advice when I upload the games final Scirra Arcade version.